Why are banana leaves folded down?

[applestar]

Just looked out the window and my dwarf banana's leaves are folded down along the leaf ribs.
90+°F yesterday, 91°F right now (in the shade -- banana is out in the sun).
I didn't water it this morning because there was water in the drip tray but does it NEED water, or is it just HOT?

This is first time I've seen this -- usually the leaves are spread wide.

[ReptileAddiction]

My first guess would be a lack of water. I noticed it is in a clay pot which as I am sure you know are very porous and lose moisture very fast. Are the leaves limp? I would give it water and some shade and see what happens.

[applestar]

Well, I hedged my bets and gave it a little bit of water -- maybe a little less than a quart -- after I posted. I couldn't check on it later in the PM/evening, but this morning, it looked like this with leaves wide spread (68°F).


Since it was going to be another scorcher today, I gave it plenty of water as well as watered the area with overhead sprinkler for about an hour between 7-8am. But when the sun got hot and my little stick on thermometer was "pinned" in the sun:


...it looked like this again:


My conclusion? I think this nth generation, grown in the greenhouse, super dwarf Cavendish banana is unaware of its tropical heritage and is a total wuss in the heat.

[gumbo2176]

Applestar, you ought to see how they look here in our heat on a daily basis, and these are in the ground plants. One of my neighbors to the back of my property has a huge mass of banana plants that are about 15 ft. tall now and they droop every day.

Like your thermometer, mine will do the same in my garden when there is no breeze or cloud cover. No wonder it's only okra and hot peppers that do well in July and August in my plot.